Arts and Culture

My husband and I had a conversation about being trapped on a desert island. What would we take? If we could only take a limited number of albums, which ones would they be? We’re both audiophiles, so the debate was hot and heavy and we had to come up with a list of ten albums we’d take with us to our hypothetical desert island. I’m sharing part one in this post, because sitting in traffic is like being stuck on a desert island, except with air conditioning.

Abbey Road — The Beatles

Abbey Road is the 11th Beatles album and one I listen to multiple times per week. I lean to the heavier side of rock music and this album, released three years before my birth, was the proper goodbye from this iconic band. (Note: It wasn’t the last album they released, but it was the final one they recorded.) While I enjoy early Beatles works, I feel they truly started coming into their own as musicians with their later albums.

I’m going to skip the well-known tracks on the album, “Come Together,” Here Comes The Sun,” and “Something.” While they are iconic Beatles songs, they’re not my favorites on this album.

“Octopus Garden” is a light-hearted, lovely piece by Ringo Starr. It’s one I used to sing to my son when he was a toddler and we still use it as a sing-along. It’s a much-needed light, airy bit before “She’s So Heavy.”

“She’s So Heavy” is music to be played with your head thrown back against the sofa, favorite libation in hand, while the music throbs and makes you feel as if you’re lost in a 60’s timewarp. Listening to it makes me feel trippy. If Timothy Leary’s followers were listening to this, I can understand how they heard colors.

There’s nothing like driving down the highway, with the windows down and an open sunroof, while Paul sings “one sweet dream, pick up the bags and get in the limousine” in “You Never Give Me Your Money.” The song ends with John, George and Ringo singing “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, all good children go heaven” layered multiple times for a richer sound.

“Sun King” is lush and beautiful. There is the faux mixing of Romance languages – throw it into a translator and you’ll soon find out — for the last three lines. When I was reading the lyrics, I saw the phrase “chicka ferdy” which was taught to me by an old friend from Liverpool. (Oh the things my friends from the UK have taught me regarding language.) After reading that, I visited my friend Google and sure enough, there’s an interview with John Lennon discussing inserting the phrase into their nonsensical romance language mash-up.

Of course, Abbey Road’s B-side is meant to be played as one piece. That being said, there are two sections of three songs I prefer to break into two separate sequences.

“Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” and “She Came in Through The Bathroom Window” starts it out. “Mean Mr. Mustard” goes back to their days in India studying transcendental meditation when their creativity was fueled and they all created an amazing amount of work. John Lennon was able to create the story of a character you didn’t particularly care for, yet mesmerize you with this storyline. “Polythene Pam” is sung in a very Liverpudlian “Scouse” accent and was tied into Mustard after his sister’s name changed from Shirley while Lennon ad-libbed. The final of this first set is “She Came in Through The Bathroom Window” about an overzealous female fan breaking into Paul McCartney’s home. Joe Cocker also recorded this song, which has caused great debate in my house as that’s the version my husband prefers.

The next set is “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End.” There are many, many stories floating around, not including the interpretations — most of it does lead to the last days of the Beatles and their break-up. While it’s pretty obvious, I try not to read as much into it, as true musicologists have already done that. I’ll take it for what it is — the end of an era.

“Her Majesty” is a great hidden track that wasn’t supposed to be included on this album. If you let it play, you’ll hear it at the end after a short wait. “Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl…”

Get Up With It — Miles Davis

I love pretty much anything from Miles Davis and have listened to all eras of music he produced, ranging from be-bop to modal. He channeled contemporary music and sounds — changing from one period of his life to the next.

This album is pure psychedelic soul and improvisation. In fact, what I write here will be brief and about one song only, as I don’t have the words, nor music education, to break it down properly. I didn’t discover this album until two years ago and that’s just not enough time to absorb the meaning of everything recorded and write about it properly.

“Get Up With It” starts with the 32-minute modal monody “He Loved Him Madly” — an elegy — to the late Duke Ellington. His mournful trumpet keens for his lost friend and mentor. I listen to this piece several times per week while working, knowing there will be goose bumps on my arms and waves of emotion will course through me. Duke Ellington told his audiences he “loved them madly” at the end of every show.

Appetite for Destruction — Guns N’ Roses

I don’t care where I am, or what I’m doing, I’ll always remember the first time I heard Guns N’ Roses album, “Appetite for Destruction.” It was April 1988 and I was on my way to a grand European adventure and sitting in a Nissan somewhere in Raleigh, NC, as my crew headed to the mall for last minute essentials. I had forgotten my Walkman, so I had to use to mom’s “in case of emergency” credit card and buy one. (That explanation didn’t go over well.)

Not long after my GNR obsession started, they released “Sweet Child o’ Mine” for airplay. To this day, I can only listen to this song if I am listening to the album. Don’t mistake this for me not loving the song. Radio stations cutting the guitar solo short has pushed it down my list to least favorite track on the album. I feel the same way about Paradise City — love the song, but radio edits has ruined it for me.

What are my favorite songs on the album? “Nighttrain,” “Mr. Brownstone” and “Rocket Queen.”

This album is what rock n’ roll is meant to be. It’s hard, fast, and dirty — an aural trip through the debauchery and sleaze that was the Sunset Strip in the 80’s.

Three albums in and seven more to go. I’ll be sharing the next albums over the coming weeks.

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Housing is a basic human right, yet many in Charlotte metro area don’t have access to adequate, affordable housing. The numbers speak for themselves. In the Charlotte region alone, 1 out of 5** children that live within 8 miles of Uptown Charlotte are homeless. I can’t believe I just typed those numbers — 1 out of 5.

Graphic from Urban Ministry — Charlotte, NC

Chronic homelessness is a problem in the United States as well. As a country, we have made progress in the national effort to end homelessness with a nationwide decrease of 22%. Yet on any given night in January 2015, an estimated 83,170 individuals were living on the streets, chronically homeless. (https://www.usich.gov/goals/chronic)

Graphic from Urban Ministry — Charlotte, NC

Closer to home, we’re trying do something to help alleviate the problem of homelessness and help with housing those who are in need. HousingFest is music festival dedicated to ending homelessness in Charlotte. Critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Josh Ritter will headline the May 28, 2016 concert at The Fillmore in NC Music Factory. Guided by the Housing First principle that recognizes housing as a basic human right, HousingFest began with the idea that music can unite the community to end homelessness. Proceeds from the event will support permanent apartments with supportive services for those experiencing chronic homelessness.

HousingFest is presented by the Urban Ministry Center (UMC), in collaboration with Live Nation and Maxx Music. The concert features Ritter, named one of the “100 Greatest Living Songwriters” by Paste Magazine, and Lindi Ortega, whom American Songwriter calls “the love child of Johnny Cash and Nancy Sinatra.”

Matrimony, the Charlotte-based band that Rolling Stone compared to “Mumford and Sons if they were weaned on middle-period Fleetwood Mac” will be making a rare appearance for HousingFest. North Carolina-bred, New-Orleans based Nikki Hill and her band will bring their roaring boogie, equal parts Staple Singers and AC/DC, to the show.

Jim Lauderdale is a two-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter. He’s collaborated with music royalty: Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, and Willie Nelson among many others. Justin Fedor, founding member of The New Familiars and Ancient Cities, will be part of the line-up as well bringing his distinctive blend of Americana rock-and-roll.

Graphic from Urban Ministry — Charlotte, NC

Buy Tickets to HousingFest 2016:

The festival’s $39 ticket price is equivalent to one night of housing with support services in UMC’s HousingWorks program.

Tickets are on sale now at LiveNation.com.

About

The inaugural HousingFest in 2014 featured Grammy Award-winning performers The Blind Boys of Alabama and Jim Lauderdale. Held at Charlotte’s Neighborhood Theatre, HousingFest 2014 was a sold-out event, with over 800 people in attendance. Partnering with 14 sponsors to launch HousingFest, UMC raised over $25,000 to house our community’s most vulnerable homeless men and women.

For more information about HousingFest, including sponsorship opportunities, and success stories of people housed with the Housing First strategy, please visit HousingFest.org, a new website created by Luquire George Andrews. For more information aboutUrban Ministry Center, its mission and programs to end homelessness, please visit UrbanMinistryCenter.org.

I follow the cocktail scene closely in several cities around the world. Los Angeles is one of those cities. I’ve been following Matthew Biancaniello and the innovative cocktails he has been creating for quite some time. Biancaniello started mixing drinks at the Library Bar, located in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and now consults on cocktail programs for many restaurants and bars. He has just realeased his book based on years of experience, Eat Your Drink: Culinary Cocktails

Eat Your Drink is set up in courses, starting with the amuse-bouche and ending with the after dinner drinks for a total of six chapters fusing “artisanal alcohol and foods.” Some of them I could definitely get behind, like gin-based Chai Iced Tea (but would also like to see it made as a vodka drink), the Mexican Apple Pie (tequila based) and Vin de Pamplemousse (a grapefruit liqueur made with white wine and tequila). A few of them stopped in my tracks, like the tequila based cocktail with uni puree (sea urchin) and cumin. There was also the okra infused cachaca (a sugarcane based liquor.) I prefer my uni as sushi and my okra fried, but that’s my taste preferences.

I do love some of the ideas for cocktails in the book, but I am unlikely to infuse an entire bottle of spirits to mix drinks one time. Most weekend bartenders are the same way. Instead of infusing 750ml at a time, I create infusions in very small quantities (pints). There is also the issue of availability. While I live in the Charlotte, NC, area, a booming region, we still have a long way to catch up on what is being sold in our liquor stores, as well as what is being offered by our state licensing agencies. (Our alcohol and food laws are somewhat archaic at best.)

Even without the availability of many of the ingredients in the book (fingerlimes for example) I am able to make substitutions. Like using the applewood smoked sea salt I already have sitting in my pantry for rubs. I also experimented with infusing some, but on a very small scale (just the amount required to make the cocktail and a much shorter time).

One recipe I haven’t made, but am going to try over the coming weeks is the candy cap bourbon ice cream. I’m only going to infuse 1 cup of bourbon with dried candy cap mushrooms instead of 750mil. I have been experimenting with savory ice creams over the past summer at home, so this is great inspiration. After all, mushrooms pull what is the new holy grail of taste, umami. It’s a savory taste that comes from glutamate in food. I’m always seeking umami, the flavor found most often in Japanese cuisine.

For the truly adventurous foodie and cocktail lover, Eat Your Drink is an investment that will make your bar a culinary delight.

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I have followed the story of Malala Yousafazi, the Pakistani girl targeted by the Taliban, ever since news broke that she was shot on a bus on her way from school when she was 15. Malala captured the world’s attention by standing up for what she believes. The story of her survival and triumph of being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was covered in depth by news organizations the world over, and being covered in a documentary about her life called He Named Me Malala.

In patriarchal societies, women are expected to be obedient. A good girl should be quiet, humble, and submissive. Malala’s activism, and what made her such a high profile target as a 15-year-old, was because she used her voice in the role of advocate for others. Her father encouraged her to ask questions, demand answers, and seek the truth. As an educator, he taught all of his students that it was imperative that they all learn to think critically and stand up for what is right.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the whys of what happened to Malala. Then I look at my 15-year-old son and I sit back and try to remember 15-year-old me. I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to change the world, just like my son dreams of doing now, and that Malala works so tirelessly for every day of her life. Deep respect, admiration, and overwhelming emotion I can only describe as “motherly” is how I feel about the work she is doing.

Memoirs, such as I Am Malala, are a powerful witness to history. I had the great pleasure of sitting a few feet away from holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel in 2010, author of Night (1955), and looking back at what I wrote about him, and the quotes I hurriedly scribbled down, I find one that I feel connects him and Malala: “I must think of those who suffer today and not about me.”

Malala suffered greatly, yet works tirelessly for others. Instead of being a now 19-year-old girl worried about typical 19-year-old girl issues, the assassination attempt on her life changed the trajectory of her life. Those changes are what cause her to work to change the lives of other girls who deserve an education.

This Monday, February 29, the National Geographic Channel will premiere He Named Me Malala commercial free at 8 p.m. EST. While I have watched He Named Me Malala at the theater, I’ll be setting my DVR to record this special showing Monday evening and encourage you to do the same thing. If you’re not sure if it’s appropriate for your kids, read this post from TechSavvy Mama: 4 Reasons for Tweens to See He Named Me Malala.

Malala hasn’t taken her survival for granted, nor the lessons her father taught her lightly. She is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund. In this film, documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim shows how Malala, her father Zia and her family are committed to fighting for education for all girls worldwide. It’s a glimpse into her life, sharing Malala’s relationship with her father, speeches at the UN, as well as her daily life with her parents and brothers.

“It’s a combination of Ziauddin and Toor Pekai that has created this incredible girl,” the director says. “Ziauddin obviously has a close relationship with Malala. He has that wonderful quote: ‘Don’t ask me what I did. Ask me what I didn’t do. I didn’t clip her wings.’ And there’s that special moment when she’s born and he says to her, you’re equal to all the men that are on the family tree. But I also believe Toor Pekai is where Malala gets her moral strength and her faith.”

Malala’s work has is also creating change for women of different generations. Her mother, Toor Pekai, had one year of formal education and is now in school. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be entering school as an adult, but I applaud her. Education is something that can never be taken away from us. It is one of the most important things we can do, not only for ourselves, but for others.

Thoughts of Toor Pekai make me think of my mother-in-law. Raised in Korea during Japanese occupation, she is one of the most intelligent women I know. Due to the death of her parents when she was a child, exorbitant school fees which an orphan couldn’t afford, she received what is equivalent to a 6th grade education. This has caused her to push for the best education, for her and her children, with a burning passion.

I want to do more to show I’m #withMalala, but don’t know where to start.

Social media is one of the easiest ways to start using your voice to advocate for change. Visit supportmalala.com to create a custom Facebook profile video (it’s super easy!) to show your support. For every person who participates through March 10, 2016, 21st Century Fox will donate $1 to the Malala Fund. A $1 donation will also be made for every tweet using the hashtag #withMalala during this time period, for a total donation up to $50,000.

Not sure what to Tweet?

Start by encouraging your followers to join you on Monday to watch the documentary or share that for every #withMalala tweet, 21st Century Fox wil donate $1. Here are tweets that you can copy, paste, schedule, and encourage your followers to retweet!

Like to tweet? Support girls’ ed? For every #withMalala tweet til 3/10 @21CF will donate $1 to @MalalaFund. Pls RT

I’m standing #withMalala + @21CF will donate $1 to @MalalaFund. Show girls everywhere you stand for their right to edu. Pls RT

Resources:

Are you looking for information that will help you understand Malala’s background, the documentary, and the history of the Swat Valley in Pakistan? These resources are great tools and will not only further your understanding, but will also help answer any difficult questions that might come up with your children.

He Named Me Malala Curriculum Guide— Designed for teachers, the official curriculum guide for the documentary is a free downloadable PDF that features ways to develop understanding, essential questions, notes to educators, additional resources and the standards that are being addressed through each lesson. It’s perfect for classroom teacher and homeschooling families who are studying Malala.

Education World’s Malal Yousafzai’s Courage: Student Discussion Guide — rich discussion questions that appear halfway down the page. Questions like “If you were a 16-year-old girl in Pakistan, could you have imagined doing what Malala did? What do you admire about Malala?” ask kids to put themsevels in Malala’s shoes but also dive deeper into bigger issues such as womens’ rights.

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Six years ago today Haiti was leveled with a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake. More than 160,000 were killed, 1.5 million displaced and 300,000 buildings destroyed*. Even now, scars of the tragedy still remain, as Port au Prince is still pockmarked by half-destoryed buildings and living conditions worse than before the quake.

The already weak infrastructure of this country was more or less obliterated. Aid came in droves, but very little of it reached the actual citizens. Today, the NGO’s have pulled out and creditors have stopped investing. Haiti is at a developmental impasse and more economically fragile than before.

As I walk through my house and look at my home decor and peek in my jewelry box at the items from Haiti, given to me by one of my best friends from one of her many philanthropic trips since the earthquake, I think of the Haitian people. Haiti is rich in the arts and despite being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, metal artisans, papier-mâché artisans, and skilled crafts people are anxious to work and earn a living to support their families.

Imagine for a moment that you lived in Haiti. You have the desire to work. You have the creative ability, but you have no job. No way to earn a living or feed your family. Can you imagine the devastation you would feel? Every time I slip on a paper bead bracelet, or look at one of the many handcrafted items decorating my home, I think of their loss, their struggle, their heartache, and their profound resilience.

That’s why today, I’m writing about Macy’s Heart of Haiti. Time and time again, the commitment Macy’s made shortly after the earthquake six years ago has made me a loyal fan of the Macy’s brand and the Macy’s Heart of Haiti line of handcrafted goods. It was a bold decision to carry a line of handcrafted goods made by Haiti’s rich artist community and offer the products up for sale to customers who still picture New York City grandeur when shopping at Macy’s.

Macy’s Heart of Haiti

Macy’s Heart of Haiti has been giving economic support to Haitian artisans ever since the devastating earthquake hit six years ago. Shortly after the earthquake, Macy’s began carrying this product line featuring an array of beautiful handmade goods crafted by artisans in Haiti. The country of Haiti is rich in the arts despite being the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. An estimated 400,000 artisans (out of 10 million people living in Haiti) rely on their handcrafted goods as a source of income. These metal artisans, papier-mâché artisans, and skilled crafts people are anxious to work and earn a living to support their families.

Does the American shopper appreciate handmade artisan items made by Haitians? The answer is a resounding yes, as Macy’s Heart of Haiti continues to thrive. To date over 550 artists make their livelihood by creating goods for sale at Macy’s. While other aid organizations have come and gone, Macy’s has remained, making a commitment to the artists and providing proof that American shoppers appreciate gifts that make a difference.

My newest addition is from the Heart of Haiti line of metal baskets made in the town of Croix-des-Bouquets by acclaimed metal artisans who have practiced this technique for years. The sales of these handcrafted bowls allow the artisans to feed their families, send their children to school and better support their extended families. Artisans forge these bowls out of recycled oil barrels, pounding out intricate designs, creating beautful handcrafted goods while honoring their artisanal heritage.

This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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Meet Lisa

Lisa Frame is an over-achieving Southern gal with a knack for Pinterest and making people laugh. She writes about life, food, culture and travel. Lisa is a very amateur photographer, voracious reader, wanna-be neat freak, and closeted crafter.